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Hi Guys,

I hope that someone can help with this.

I have had to travel to Manzini in Swaziland twice this month for business and there seems to be a new structure at the Golela border and things have gotten stricter. I intend to travel through Swaziland with the family in less than a month for our first KNP trip of the year, but the new paperwork has me worried.

Quotation from the new document:

Certain goods may only be imported provided you are in possession of the necessary authority/permit:
Animals, plants and their products e.g. dairy products – So does this mean no meat, vegetables,milk, eggs, etc?? (I'm not sure if tomatoes, etc are deemed products of a plant??)

Medicine – must be accompanied by a letter from a registered physician - I have 3 small kids and take just about all the medicine in our cupboard just in case, surely people understand that??

Is it still advisable to travel through Swaziland from Durban, or is it less painful to drive the extra Km around.

Any advice would be appreciated

I was wondering if the recent outbreak of Foot and Mouth that has broken out in KZN would have any bearing on animal products taken through the borders?
We didn't have any problems with medicines etc when we travelled through last month other than the usual serial numbers needed by the S.A authorities.
But I did notice a sign in the office stipulating the amounts of certain things one could take through.
Can't quite remember what they all were.

Hi there

Latest update:

And this is my again recent experience and observations, and in reply to the last three posts above.

Swazi Police and Roadblocks are generally no problem. Make sure you have your Drivers license and your car is in Roadworthy condition. Lights, hooter, windscreen wipers. Been stopped too many times and have never been extorted or fined. Totally professional and polite.

Do not try take ANY FRESH Meat, Poultry products, or Milk, (long Life Milk included)
This has become a huge problem since he Foot and Mouth outbreak. if you can afford to take the risk of it being confiscated or not, then try risk.

Rather by your fresh supplies at Komatee Spar or Malelane Superspar. Generally both good for Meats and Dairy, or Malelane PicknPay. It worth not having the trouble at the border post.

PM me if you have any questions

Cheers

If you want to add a little more spice to life, try the following:
From Nelspruit go south on the R40 to Barberton, bypass the town (keep straight) and head up to Josefsdal border post, they are great there and give no hassles at all. Go through the Swazi border post (Bulembu) and on to Piggs Peak. Turn right onto the Mbabane road. It is a bit further but a beautiful scenic route. There is about 17 k's of dirt but it is not a bad section at all.

Hi TonyP,
Thank You for the input. I'm always looking for different roads to conquer. When I was first researching Africa in 2006, I read about Josefsdal border post so correct me if I'm wrong but the guide book pictured it as a difficult drive up the mountain. Never having been on this continent, I decided to play it safe and went through Ngwenya. I'm a little more adventurous now and will file away your suggestion and attempt to scale that peak in the future. This time I'll be leaving from Malelane or Crocodile Bridge so Josefsdal will be a little too far west.

Has anyone gone from Mkhaya Game Reserve in Swaziland to Lower Sabie in Kruger Park? It's what we are planning to do in 3 weeks! Any tips of on travel (without a personal car) are welcome along with approximate time etc. Thank you so much for all of your comments and suggestions!

@ ace717, I'm not sure I understand your post, Mkhaya is a great nature reserve, but you cannot self drive there, it's all guided walks or in guided game drive vehicles. it is actually a sactuary for endangered species such as black Rhino, Sable & Roan.
Ok so now is where I don't quite understand...do you not have a vehicle, if not how are you getting to & from Mkhaya? If you need to use other forms of transport I would assume you could fly from Manzini (Matsapa airport) to Nelspruit and then hire a vehicle for Kruger. I'm not sure about the number of flights etc. Please give us a clearer picture of your plans and we'll try to help.

Hi TonyP,
Thanks for giving more detail to the drive from Josefdal border post. I guess I read too much into the description from the guide book. So now I have three border posts to choose from instead of two. I just read about Hugh's foodstuffs being confiscated at the border (who needs that to deal with). I'll get back to this thread when I return from my adventure in November.

Hi guys, newbie here rejuvenating this topic. My husband and I want to drive from Durban to Kruger, via Swaziland, in two nights and three days, staying at a place near Piet Retief the first night and Mololotja in Swaziland the second. We then have two nights to spend in the Kruger before meeting up with friends near Lydenburg.

Any advice on this route and on the best camp/ area to spend our two nights and three days actually in the park? Our budget is about R2,500 for the two nights inc. food. Any advice would be most welcome. Cheers!

Hi Katiebun - the route from Durban to Crocodile Bridge gate through Swaziland is the shortest route available. You travel up through Zululand on a fairly good road and before Pongola you turn off for Swaziland. You go in at Golela (Lavumisa and travel towards Siteki, through the Kings hunting ground at Hlane and out the Mananga gate which is a scant hours drive from the Crocodile Bridge Gate via Komatiepoort. Some of the paperwork required for the borders aside from passports can be a little onerous but once you get used to it and know what to produce then it becomes fairly easy. Bye the way using this route from Durban to Crocodile bridge takes about 7 hours but does not go anywhere near Piet Retief so you might want to reconsider this.

I would suggest that you definitely consider Crocodile Bridge camp for reasonably priced accommodation in a very productive part of the Park but do not try and spend your days in Kruger travelling from one camp to another as this can become hectic. Should you require more information please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours in Parking
Penny

Hi Everyone,
Pressed for time, I decided to go via Jeppes Reef. It took 23 minutes of paper work to cross into Swaziland. I then took the first left onto the MR6. I was prepared for a dirt road with lots of wandering cattle and pedestrians but to my surprise it turned out to be a newly paved, major roadway. It ended at MR5 which took me onto the MR3 and then to the MR8 to Lavumisu/Golela Border Post. Total travel time was about 3 hours.
(Thanks TonyP, next time with more time I'll try the Josefdal crossing.)

Just as long as you have all your necessary paperwork to hand it is still the quickest way to the Park.

You will need

1. Passports that are valid for at least 6 months before the expiry date.
2. Forms for the Swaziland side (if the are not unline at Golela but always for Mananga
3. A letter of undertaking from your insurance broker to say you are covered.
4. A letter from your bank if you are still paying off your vehicle.
5. A list of all your electronic goods i.e. cell phones, laptop, cameras with their relevant serial numbers.
6. The road toll slip which you buy as you go in at Golela

Its important to tell anyone who asks about your provisions that you are merely in transit and that you are not staying in Swaziland.

We always try and be as pleasant as possible but some of the customs officials just have bad attitudes.

Good luck
Yours in Parking
Penny

Hi All...

As someone who recently went that way again recently, KZN Dbn to KNP, I can confirm that you will STILL have problems if you are trying to take any Fresh meat and Milk through from RSA, into Swaziland.
I still have not found a solution to this, even trying to "declare it" for "re-import" does not help.

The police roadblocks are fine, just make sure you have a roadworthy car and trailer.

And just be patient. Smile and be friendly, no matter what, and you will be surprised how that helps ease the tensions!

I agree with Penny, still worth the time and distance saved.... and stock up in Komati or Malelane for your meat/ milk (and beers), as an option.

Have great sightings in the Park and see you all in December in the KNP!

We are planning to go throug Swaziland from KZN to Kruger on 16th Dec.
Has anyone experienced any problems with the border posts going into or leaving Swaziland recently?
What are the road conditions like Golela, Big Bend, Jeppe's Reef?

http://routes.tomtom.com/#/route/Lower% ... &map=basic


Is this a good route through Swaziland, or are the roads here awful? They appear to be M roads. I know that other parts have good roads, but this seems nice and direct!